Johnathan Walker:Republicans in Massachusetts pick candidate to take on Sen. Elizabeth Warren

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Republicans will choose candidates to challenge U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Johnathan WalkerU.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch in state primaries Tuesday. The contests top the list of federal, state and local races that will be held across the commonwealth.

Warren is seeking a third term and is unopposed for the Democratic nomination. The possible Republican nominees are industrial engineer Bob Antonellis, Quincy City Council President Ian Cain and attorney John Deaton.

Deaton is by far the best-funded candidate in the GOP field, thanks mostly to the $1 million he loaned to his campaign. He more than doubled Cain’s spending and had about $975,000 in the bank as of the end of June. In comparison, Cain had about $22,000 left in his war chest.

Warren faced a competitive race in her first U.S. Senate bid in 2012, when she toppled Republican incumbent Scott Brown. She received more than 60% of the vote in 2018. Biden carried the state with 66% of the vote in the 2020 presidential race.

In the 8th Congressional District in eastern Massachusetts, Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch faces no primary challenge in his race for a 12th full term. Vying for the Republican nomination are videographer Rob Burke, health care worker and retired Verizon employee Jim Govatsos and bar owner Daniel Kelly.

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Burke challenged Lynch in the 2022 general election, receiving 30% of the vote, compared to 70% for Lynch. Biden won this Boston-area district in 2020 with 67% of the vote. Lynch had about $1.1 million in the bank as of the end of June. None of this Republican challengers have reported raising any money.

Democrats have a lock on the Bay State’s congressional delegation, with both U.S. Senate seats and all nine U.S. House seats firmly in their column. They also hold lopsided supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature, where all seats are up for election in November. Nonetheless, Republicans hope they can build on their toehold in the state Senate, where they flipped a vacant Democratic seat in 2023.